Bathing in Knowledge
by Mable
Summary: After a day out 5 and 9 share a bath. Things take a turn once in the warm water and 5 becomes a makeshift teacher to explain to 9 about the lesser known secrets of the Stitchpunk body, but he might learn some things of his own as well. 5x9 Oneshot


**Mable: This is a request for Bettagirl; I hope you enjoy it! ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Bathing in Knowledge**_

Nine tended to go out into the Emptiness quite a lot to scout. It was never a bad day to search through heaps of rubble and cement to find leftover things that may be of use. When it was blisteringly sunny, when it was a downpour of rain, and even on a rare occasion when the world was thick with snow, Nine would still find a way to get out every few days. Naturally that meant that he would drag Five along with him. Most of the time Five was willingly compliant and when he wasn't he was silently reluctant, going along with it against his better judgement so that they could spend time together.

It was strange to get so much rain in the summer months. It was a relief from the stuffy heat, of course, but it had left the outside world a mess of muck and mud. Three hours of climbing and sliding through the muddy mess and the two returned to the Library looking worse for wear. Exactly half way down all the way to their feet was nearly coated in a layer of mud and as much as Nine tried to kick it off it refused to budge. Eventually Five gave a defeated exhale and pointed out, "It looks like we're going to need a bath." Getting Nine into a bath was the tricky part and as expected the male shrugged it off.

"I don't think it's that bad." He casually defended and tried to wipe some of it off, "Maybe we need to clean off with one of the ink rags. I don't think Six will mind." The Healer frowned. A couple of pieces of cloth designed to clean ink weren't going to handle this. "Maybe for the footprints…" Five pointed out and looked back at the trail they led in, "But not for all of this. Even Six has to bathe occasionally." There was an obvious difference, though. Six didn't like bathes for his own reasons, Nine on the other hand just didn't seem to want to waste the time to bathe.

"It'll give us a chance to try the new pipe system." Five encouraged further and this seemed to convince the younger. "Alright. I don't see any harm in it." He set what he had hoarded from the Emptiness onto a nearby book before following his one eyed friend back into the Library. Not even at the Cathedral did the Stitchpunks ever get a working pipe system, so the new arrangement at the Library was a clear step in the right direction. A small room had been built into the wall of the Library with the pipe system, a small furnace, and a large porcelain bowl to be used for cleaning.

It didn't take long for Five to put a little stacked wood into the furnace and light it, warming the water that had collected in the pipes. Once it was slightly warm, though not too warm as it was still summer, he turned the lever to open the spout and water began to pour out into the bowl. Nine meanwhile looked over the few bars of soap that they had. "Do the different scents change anything?" He inquired and the Healer was amused by his curiosity, "Not really. It's just whichever you want to smell like." The younger continued to smell and test them before deciding on one bar in particular.

He toted it over and dropped it into the warm water before Five started to take off his things. "Alright, so should I go first, or…?" He turned back just as Nine was stepping into the water and blinked, "Oh, umm, then you can go first." His friend raised a brow, "Go first? I think there's enough room. Why don't we just bathe together?" The thought triggered warmth in the one eyed male's face, an innocent embarrassment. "Well, usually it's a custom that Stitchpunks don't… Bathe together." He pointed out, but Nine was just as casual as he always was. "That's probably just another thing One said, right?"

Five couldn't argue with that and didn't answer. "Come on, the water's great! It keeps you from having to run another bath and we can talk or something." The older had noticed that his slightly younger friend tended to not want to be alone. When he wasn't with Five he was with Seven, or Two, or the twins, or Six, or even with One or Eight if they were in vicinity. Five wasn't sure what brought out this behavior, but had supported it until this point so he gave a nod and started to approach the bath. "Alright. If you insist." He exhaled in a sigh, "But if we kick each other then I'm blaming you!"

Nine gave a ring of laugher and scooted enough so that his best friend could sit down beside him. Five slid into the warm water comfortably, exhaling as he did so, and took a few seconds to relax. Nine began trying to rub the soap bar on himself before giving in and just scraping off enough with his hands to use. He was immediately at his legs, working at the dirt and turning the once clean water a slightly foggier color from his efforts. He hummed as he did so and Five couldn't recognize the tune and assumed it was from his own creation. His optic moved to focus on Nine's back as he listened in.

The zippered male finished his legs before reaching back to do his back, though a bit awkwardly. He could only reach half of his number and even though his back wasn't dirty he seemed insistent in cleaning it. Five sat upwards and decided to make an offer, "Need some help?" Nine leaned back his head to shoot a smile at Five, "Yeah, if you don't mind." Five smiled and slid behind his friend. He gathered some of the soap in his hands before rubbing over the '9' on his back. Nine groaned a bit and dropped his head forward, pleased by it, and Five got a more amused smile.

"You know, maybe hours of hiking in the elements wasn't such a good idea." He coaxed and received a little chuckle, but Nine was relaxing too much to laugh more. Five enjoyed that he was making his friend feel so good and continued to pet him. His hands were as warm as the water and clever, knowing exactly where to rub to get the best reaction. It occurred to Five that he wasn't really cleaning Nine and instead was massaging him. Still he continued, wanting to please his friend, and only after a few more minutes pulled back. He slid back into his spot and patted his friend's shoulder to signal that he was done. Nine slid back into position, "Thanks, Five."

"No problem, Ni-." He made a sudden choke and stared at the other until Nine noticed, "Uh… Five? Something wrong?" The one eyed male was looking down at his friend's lap and Nine looked down as well. There was something obviously pressing against the burlap between his legs, revealing itself eagerly. Still Nine managed to remain relatively unconcerned, "Oh… Yeah, that. That came back." Five sputtered, "Came back?!" Nine raised a hand as though to calm him, "Don't panic, it's appeared before. Once I woke in the middle of the night and it was there and it just, I guess, came out again. It's no problem."

Five could only stare, though insistently at Nine's face now, and quietly asked, "Do you know what that is?" Nine hesitated before honestly shaking his head, "Not exactly… But it didn't hurt so I assumed it was normal." Five coughed nervously and looked away, "It is!... Well, not really. I mean, it is, but it's- It's not something- It's not common but it is there." He was rambling back and forth and Nine just simply watched him. "So you know what it is?" He clarified, "That's sort of a relief. I just thought maybe I had some sort of weird, defective part that kept coming out of place. So what is it?"

"What is it?" Five repeated, "Well, umm… It's a very normal thing… It's a rod." He managed to force out, sinking further into the water. Nine quirked a brow, "I think I figured that much out." Five exhaled and continued, "No, Nine, it's like… It's you mating part. Males and females have different… Parts that they use to mate and reproduce." Nine now looked alarmed by the news, "Wait, we can reproduce?!" Five bit his lip, "Yeah, we… When two Stitchpunks really love each other-." His younger friend stopped him, "No, you don't need to explain how, just why haven't we? There's only nine of us."

The one eyed male sort of shrugged and answered, "I guess nobody's been close enough to do it, mate with parts or with soul bonding for Stitchpups. Or close enough with Seven if male and female matters. I don't know if two males could have a baby." Nine seemed relieved, "Oh, so you already know about One and Two. I didn't think you did." Five sputtered and his optic widened impossibly, " _What?!_ " Nine suddenly realized his mistake and tried to cover himself, "Well, you know… Anyway, why did mine come out? I wasn't thinking anything about mating." The older just sat there silently for a few seconds.

"Come on, Five, you had to suspect that something was going on." Nine pointed out in near exasperation, mentally kicking himself for even bringing it into the conversation. "With Two going into One's room all the time and just not coming back." Five felt the need to interrupt the current flow of the conversation, "-I'm thinking that it came out, maybe, because of me… Because I was rubbing you, because of the water, you just got comfortable and your body reacted." This seemed to make the most sense and may have calmed down Five himself as well. It all made sense once again.

"Is there a way for it to go away?" Nine asked the other before fidgeting, "It's a little uncomfortable… That's normal, right?" Five found his face growing hot. It made sense that Nine was asking him as he was the Healer, but part of him couldn't help but feel just a little heightened by it. Something about the other directly mentioning the need for attention brought the same need in him, but he ignored it and tried to remain professional. "It is… Sometimes it goes away on its own… or you could get in cold water… Or you could stimulate-." His voice choked, he couldn't finish the sentence.

"Is… That what you're going to do?" Nine offered and Five flinched, suddenly realizing that, again, Nine noticed something before he did. Five didn't even dare to look down because he knew what was there waiting for him. "…Yeah." He started to slowly stand, "In fact, I'm going to go do that right now." He was stopped by the younger's hand on his, "Wait, you haven't even cleaned off yet. Sit back down." He coaxed and Five dropped down beside his friend, mortified. "This is pretty embarrassing." Nine admitted with a crooked smile and Five gave a small smile back, "Y-Yeah. It sort of is…"

"But we're friends, right? Friends should be able to deal with these things together." Nine encouraged and Five suddenly had an inappropriate thought flash in his head, "You mean us dealing with each other like _that?_ " Nine blinked and when he realized he quickly insisted, "I didn't mean that, Five, I just meant beside…" He paused and Five didn't like the fact that Nine stopped to think about this. "Nine, we couldn't." He insisted, but Nine decided to remark, "Why not?" Five wanted to list out the reasons, but his voice was caught by his friend's willingness, in sheer disbelief.

Nine slid in and put an arm around Five's shoulder, rubbing it gently, trying to get him to relax a little. "I mean…Unless you think it's a bad idea." Suddenly he sounded a little uncertain and Five decided to actually contemplate it. It wasn't as though he was taking advantage of Nine and it really wasn't like they would be doing anything wrong. He was closer to Nine than anyone else and it was in a much different way than his closeness to Two. He paused before finally giving in, "We can try." It was strange how quickly Nine perked and smiled; Five assumed it was because he trusted him by agreeing.

Either way Five continued with, "Just… Let me start, I think I- Before I lose my nerve." He sputtered out and the younger didn't protest. Five wouldn't lie to himself; he was more than thrilled to touch Nine, to bring the same joy as he did with the massage, but at the same time he was very unfamiliar with it. He slowly reached forward and rested a hand on Nine's thigh, gently petting it. He then used his other hand to caress Nine's zipper pull. Nine sighed in pleasure and Five couldn't help but give a warm smile. "Do you like this?"

The younger nodded eagerly, "Y-Yeah… I didn't expect it like this, you're not even really touching anything different." The older chuckled, "I know… It's- Things feel different when you're like this." Five knew his explanation was clumsy at best, but he decided to show more with his hands. He tugged Nine's zipper pull down slightly and the younger male gasped in delight at the sensation. Five playfully zipped him close again before repeating and unzipping him hallway down. "Hah…" Nine gasped again and murmured a soft, "Five, could you, please-."

Five nodded and slid his hand from Nine's thigh and gently pressed it against the bulge between the male's legs. There was a soft hiss of response and a tremble, and the movement sent a sudden rush through the one eyed male. He grew bolder, tugging the zipper down all the way to the bottom and allowing the hidden rod to spring free of its confines. Nine looked at it in slight curiosity, having not actually opened himself to see it out of either modesty or the process of attempting to ignore it. Five finally braced himself and took the last step, wrapping his warm hand around the object.

The cry Nine released was absolutely amazing. So needy and wanting in one short yelp. Five couldn't stop himself as he began to slowly massage over the metal, stroking it in an attempt to create more of the noises. They were so nice, so reassuring, so much that Five wanted to hear. With every massaging squeeze he knew that Nine was being dragged further down. He could see it in the fluttering in his optics and relished in it. But Nine hadn't dealt with pleasure like this before and all at one he tensed with a final gasp and reached his climax. Dark liquid spilled out of his rod and Five cleaned them both off with the water.

"Wow…" Nine simply admitted once he managed to calm his breathing and Five gave a sheepish smile, "Better?" He didn't know what else to say and actually received a smile from Nine. "Much better. That was-…" He didn't know how to voice it and instead slid closer eagerly. The Healer knew what he was planning to do and felt heat enter his cheeks, "Nine, you don't have to… You don't have to feel like you have to return the favor- Or return what I did." He babbled onwards, but to no avail as Nine seemed pretty content with what he was planning on doing.

"I'm not doing this to return a favor." Nine playfully retorted with a chuckle. He reached forward to slip open Five's front, playfully teasing over the lower button in circular motions. The Healer groaned at the sensation as something once so innocent now felt much less so. Soon Five was opened and his rod slipped out of its confines as well, revealing itself, and Nine slipped his hand around it. Five mentally admitted that Nine was always a quick learner, triggering even more heat and embarrassment to grow in his face. With one stroke he groaned in delight and shivered pleasantly. Though oddly enough Nine immediately stopped.

Even when Five stated that Nine didn't have to do it he found himself looking to the younger in confusion when he stopped. Nine paused to think and slid forward to get in front of the one eyed male. Five was slightly uncertain until Nine lay his hands on his inner thighs, caressing over them affectionately before leaning down closer to the rod. Five's pulse raised, _"Is he about to-? It sort of looks like- But I don't even know if that works or-!"_ While his mind stumbled with words his voice box couldn't create a good sentence, "I-I- Nine- Are you-?" He cut off with a short cry as the lips touched the tip of his rod.

"Relax." Nine purred as he almost smirked upwards at the older, "I just want to see if this… If this works…" He then became a bit more concerned, "Is that alright? I can stop." Five shook his head quickly, "No. I mean- I mean you don't need to stop, I'm… I just…" He gave an embarrassed smile, "I… I shouldn't be talking." This actually triggered laughter from Nine who playfully nuzzled his head against Five's lower belly. It sent a different kind of warmth through him and he felt himself relax further. Finally Nine returned to his ministrations by leaning down to gently kiss along his rod.

A groan exited Five's lips, but changed into a pleasured cry as Nine took the rod slightly in between his burlap lips. He gave a small suckle and listened happily to the Healer's pleased moans. His hands grabbed tightly at the edge of the bowl and his head lulled back as the pressure grew in his lower parts. It was coming too quickly until suddenly it struck its peak. All at once Five's vision went white and pleasure exploded as he released. It must have been sudden as Nine coughed in alarm and Five forced himself to speak past the pleasure. "Sorry!" He blurted out, but the younger slid upwards, looking amused and happy with the reaction.

He gently pressed his forehead against Five's and let the male rest briefly. As the Healer finally pulled himself together he smiled, "That was… Great." He admitted, "Really great! I didn't think- I don't know if it was right or not, but it was!" Nine sat down beside him, hugging him tightly still, and insisted, "Right or not, that was something amazing." The nuzzling continued, Five putting an arm around Nine and tugging him closer. He pressed his lips gently against Nine's cheek in a bold fashion. Nine didn't pull back, didn't argue, and simply gave a slight exhale. It felt nice, it felt right.

Then Nine turned his head and allowed his lips to brush Five. Five gasped and almost pulled back, but didn't, he regained the boldness and leaned in a bit. It was awkward and not quite kissing back even though he wanted to. When they did move apart the zippered male returned to hugging the buttoned male, his head resting on the other's shoulder affectionately. A few more minutes passed until Five pulled back, smiling shyly, "Water's starting to get cold. We should probably get out." Nine nodded in agreement and started to stand, stumbling a bit as he lifted himself out of the bowl.

He then offered a hand to Five to help him out. They decided to wait and dump the dirty water out later, thick with dirt and mud. Five pulled out two clothes as towels and handed one to Nine. Nine began to dry his face and zipper pull only to notice that Five was now facing the other way. He was focused on what he was doing and now paying attention as the zippered male got another tiny smile and approached. He reached forward and began to dry off the one eyed male's back. The healer looked back over his shoulder only to see his smile, and sweetly smile back at the friendly gesture.

Once Nine was finished Five turned back to him and returned the gesture. He looped the towel behind his body and began to rub at him playfully. Nine gave a soft chuckle. Something was amiss. Both of them knew it, both of them could feel it, but something was different from when they got in the bath. Five stopped his drying and stared at Nine, Nine stared back with his wide, knowing optics. Then the former leaned in and claimed the latter's lips, using the towel to pull him closer. Nine kissed back eagerly and slid his arms around Five shoulders to pull him even closer.

At some point the very deep kissing suddenly changed to a more intimate tone as Five pressed Nine's hips to his own. He only meant to get a better grip, but instead realized that they both had a very obvious need between them, a much more familiar one. The Healer desperately ground against his friend and received a delighted gasp in return. Then he ground back and suddenly a desperate frenzy began of grinding and gasping. It was a frenzy of undeniable need. When they were helping each other it was friendly and patient, yet here it was something deeper and needed more.

Nine guided them back against the wall by the door, needing to use it as leverage and pulling Five closer against him. He spread his legs a bit more and even though they were closed again they continued. Five played with the idea of opening each other again so that there was more contact, but his hands were almost too shaky as he touched Nine's zipper pull. Nine tried to assist and managed to get himself open, but then buckled with Five's buttons as each seemed to teasingly slip out of his grip over and over. The Healer finally did it himself and passed a hesitantly amused smile, but still shook in excitement.

It was hard to consider that such little burlap had smothered any of the pleasure. Yet it did, and the metal of metal was absolutely fantastic and they could only take a few moments of it before suddenly they tumbled into release. It was so sudden and still so powerful. Five dropped his head onto Nine's shoulder and the zippered male panted, trying to regain his breath. Soon Nine gave a playful chuckle, "Hey." He spoke and Five asked, "Yeah?" Then Nine playfully remarked, "Now we have to get back in the bath." It sunk in and Five could help but give a tired laugh as well.

* * *

"Five?" Two asked in concern as he noticed that the male again trailed off. His apprentice seemed rather distracted at the moment and straightened in alarm. "Oh, yeah, sorry… I was just… Distracted." Two raised a quizzical brow and looked to his workbench again while asking, "With what, might I ask?" Five knew he couldn't tell his mentor what he did with Nine and gave a partial truth, "Well, umm… I told Nine about… You know." He coughed and admitted, "About mating and… Such." The shorter male chuckled, "Ah, he couldn't help but ask you, could he?"

"What?" Five squeaked, wondering what that meant, and Two casually remarked, "Well, I told him last week or so. I only gave him the basic talk and I think he might have been a bit too embarrassed to ask more questions." He pointed out in amusement, but Five was just staring as the truth sunk in. Nine had known the entire time, or at least knew the jest of it, and he slowly murmured, "Excuse me, Two…" He hurried towards the door to go question Nine, "I, uh, I have to do something really quick!" He hoped that Two couldn't see his embarrassment.

But he could hear Two's chuckling, so he probably did. Nine was definitely going to hear about this.

 _ **FIN**_

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 **Mable: A little rushed at the end, but I'm trying to get these requests done a little quicker. I've decided to start doing requests in order of inspiration; the ones I know I can get done quickly I'll work on first so that the others don't take as long. Currently I have seven others. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


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